


Hit Me With Your Best Shot

by CourierNinetyTwo



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 13:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13953009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CourierNinetyTwo/pseuds/CourierNinetyTwo
Summary: There's a secret in Nicole's bloodline, and Waverly is the one who discovers the truth.





	Hit Me With Your Best Shot

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by guiltyfandoms!

Waverly knew there were a lot of ways to quantify the things she saw.

Magic, paranormal, or straight-up bullshit _,_ considering what the Earp family had been through in the last two generations, much less the last two months. There was no new normal when they barely had time to settle into the old one, with broken seals inside a cursed triangle that spit out demons whenever it pleased. After everything that happened, Waverly had yet to pin down exactly what she was, but a dozen little things made her wonder what Nicole was too.

Maybe they were both _extraordinary_.

Nicole almost never mentioned her parents, but every so often the name of an aunt or cousin slipped through, and Waverly cobbled together a family tree in bits and pieces. A few of the same names started coming to the fore: Mosey, Butler, and so many different Bills that keeping track took its own page. Some weren't even blood relatives, Nicole insisted while four fingers of whiskey deep, just friends that stretched so far south that they hopped a few borders.

With the names alone, Waverly wouldn't have been sure, but after Nicole bought a pair of Colt Buntline Specials to practice with -- just in case, considering how Peacemaker jumped hot from hand to hand -- the truth was hard to deny.

"Want to set up the cans for me again, Waves?" Nicole asked, fitting a set of new rounds into the revolver. "I'll trade you next time."

"You mean _your_ cans," Waverly countered with a laugh. "Half of mine are still standing up."

"That's why we're practicing." As if worried the encouragement wasn't enough, a warm smile lit up Nicole's face. "Besides, you're way better with a shotgun than I am."

Turning over each can one by one, Waverly held them up to the sunlight. It was like a machine punched through them, right through the center every time. "Every try shooting backwards, babe?"

"Not on purpose." Nicole flipped the cylinder shut, fluid as second nature; Waverly suspected that 'second' might be superfluous. "But considering the gunfights we get in, it's happened more than once."

Aluminum clinked on dry, splintered wood while Waverly lined the cans up, checking that they were balanced side-by-side. When she retreated to the firing line, Nicole leaned over for a kiss, but it landed on Waverly's hair instead of her mouth. With one hand halfway into her purse, she laughed, tilting her head up to reclaim what was just lost.

"What are you looking for?" Nicole murmured against Waverly's lips.

"A mirror." She held up her prize, flipping the top open. "I want you to use it."

The angle of Nicole's Stetson went sharp as she raised an eyebrow. "For what, exactly?"

"To look over your shoulder and shoot." Waverly offered the mirror with a grin of challenge. "The Buntline's barrel is long enough. It can rest on your shoulder."

"There's no way." With a chuckle, Nicole shook her head. "That bullet's going to hit some poor cow in the middle of nowhere."

"Trust me." There wasn't any real risk; the two of them were the only living souls for miles out in the field, even if one included Revenants among the 'living' -- and Waverly tended to for her own sake. "I think you can do it."

Doubt lingered in Nicole's eyes, but she took the mirror anyway. Turning her back on the cans, she adjusted the revolver up over her shoulder, careful as could be. One hand held the mirror in place, angling it to make a shot in the center of the bunch. With her thumb near the hammer, Nicole swallowed hard.

"This is dangerous, Waverly." Her voice didn't shake; it was wrapped in steel, if as steel itself poured through her heart. "I should be using a rifle, at least."

"You've got this." Even with the single grip, Nicole's control of the revolver was stable, unyielding. "Take the shot."

Nicole fired, and the can in the middle went flying, the holes pierced through it glowing with heat. There was still only one set; Nicole had shot through the very center of the first bullet's mark, perfectly aligned. Shock almost made her drop the mirror, but her trigger discipline stayed nothing short of sublime.

"Holy shit." Breathless with adrenaline, Nicole stared at Waverly, caught between confusion and awe. "How did I...hell, how did _you_ know I could pull that off?"

"Because I figured out whose blood you have in your veins." Waverly waited a moment for that to sink in; issues of heritage were a fragile topic between the two of them, but at least the truth would be clean on one side. "Not that I'm giving your parents any credit."

"Whose, then?" Suspicion didn't carry the question; no, Nicole sounded mystified.

"Annie Oakley. The surest shot there ever was." Before Nicole could protest, Waverly put up a hand. "Her birth name was Mosey, and she married into being a Butler."

"Yeah, I know _that_ , but she didn't have any kids." Nicole mumbled, protesting with a firm shake of her head. "I named my cat Calamity Jane, Waves, I know my history."

"If you go by the paperwork, Wynonna doesn't have any kids either." Reaching back into her purse, Waverly pulled out the family tree she had drawn, marked with dates and a whole scrawl of names. "Take a look."

After making sure the Colt was out of the way, Nicole did just that, staring at the paper like it would start talking all on its own. "Say this is true. Is that why I ended up _here_?"

"I think you ended up here because Nedley offered you a job," Waverly teased.

"Sometimes I wonder what the hell that man knows and didn't tell me." Folding the family tree back over itself, Nicole made to tuck it into her pocket before hesitating. "Can I keep this?"

"Of course, babe. All yours." After working on the list for so long, Waverly had every name on there memorized, even the Bills. "Doc might be the fastest draw, but I bet you could give him a run for his money on aim."

Nicole's laugh was bright with joy. "I can't believe we're both special. I thought it was just you."

"Oh, Nic." Cupping her girlfriend's face between both hands, Waverly pulled Nicole down into another kiss and whispered, "you've always been special."

\--


End file.
